Haven't posted much lately. Haven't done much with the H body's, since I've been in the peak of our local 'off season' for hot-rodding.
I got my 4 new 13' tires mounted on the snowflake and now just waiting for a warm day to mount them up..
Without the focus on my car I turned to another hobby to pour some money into, but at least this stands the chance to recoup all the costs over time.
E-biking as it's being called. ie, either buying an electric bike or converting an existing bike to electric assist. (not gas).
Nothing against gas, I just went electric.
I got the bug to do the project after being initially enticed to part with my tax refund on an ebike being offered on one of those 'crowd-source' fund sites. I wasn't convinced on it's specifications or if it would even be real. So I missed the special early buy-in pledge of $500. Later it was $650 soon to go up to a more market typical $1,100.
I did some research on converting my current aging mountain bike and found that for nearly the same price I could actually have a more powerful bike, with spec's I could sure of. And like always, the pleasure of assembling it myself.
I dont get disc brakes or fat inefficient tires ( you can look up "storm ebike"), but I have more power...36v 350watt hub Vs. 48volt 1000watt hub
The trouble and big expense of ebike's is the battery. Low tech + low cost, lead acid is heavy and has low range. High tech is high cost but is much lighter and has better range, but lithium technology is finicky and care has to be taken when charging. Another thing is most of these battery packs are over sea's. These may include extra duty fee's once en-route.
So I found a US retailer and plunked down $500 kahonies for the best battery I could afford that would work with my hub. Matching component's is tricky with custom kit's. I did a ton of reading.
Right about now is a burning question... why not just pedal your bike, where's the exercise in electric? Understanding an ebike is knowing that an ebike is not a moped.
The kit gives a superman type of boost. But you have to use it sensibly, or you wont get any range. And when you do pedal on your own, the bike is a noticeable bit heavier and requires bit more human power to ride. Also heat kills these thing's. You can not use it to take off from a stand still w/o pedaling at every start-up, or to freewheel up big hill's. You have to assist or toast your gear. So there's a ton of exercise to be had, + the fun factor of a turbo boost when-needed which is the encouragement to ride the thing wherever possible. (not raining of course). Plus saving gas. and polluting a little less, and the deep breath's of fresh air...and the increased heart rate (which I'm keen to since I mostly sit for my job all day long) Many years ago now, I was an avid biker. Just an amateur, but I rode everywhere. (In the age before helmet's)
In pure dollars and sense will I be raking in the cash I saved on gas? Not quite. I drive a gas sipping aveo so that doesn't help. If I drive my bike 75% of the time..
I could trim $50 off my monthly fuel bill. That would equate to 10 month's or about 2 summers worth of commuting with my bike. During which time, provided nothing fails, and I don't wipe out. That battery will have paid for itself, however it will be nearing the end of it's life span.. what ever I get after saving $500 worth of gas is saving's. Considering wear and tear on the vehicle, the numbers get a bit more promising. We'll have to see.
I think the fuel companies have already spearheaded this type of activity, by adding in this ethanol that evaporates quickly. So even days my car sits still I'm still using up gas. I would imagine not that much.
My bike calculator/ speedometer arrives this week and I'll know my top speed. I would say I was able to get to 20mph pretty easily on full throttle. The looks you get are the best, when you lay into the throttle going by people walking their dog's...it looks like your super human.
"Storm Ebike" $650 + $155 shipping... = $805 and people still waiting on May delivery, no guarantee that it all isn't one big scam, though it looks like its going to get made.
My Ebike.. $760 to my door. Battery arrived yesterday. Had smiles last night and all this morning.
If I can ride this thing the 26 miles to my storage area (bike path a lot of the way). All slightly down hill one way, uphill the way back. Then I'll really be saving. Not sure if it will have the range for the full trip. But I can re-charge it once I'm there.
Oh yeah, and it has something in common with H bodies... It uses a torque arm to manage the power!